Construction worker killed as scaffolding collapses at Tel Aviv building site

A construction worker was killed and three others were injured when scaffolding they were working on in central Tel Aviv collapsed Tuesday, authorities said.

First responders, including search and rescue personnel from the Israel Defense Force’s Home Front Command, took several hours to reach the crushed worker, who was buried under a mangled pile of supports.

Another worker was hospitalized with moderate injuries, while two others were treated for mild injuries, the Magen David Adom rescue service said.

The incident occurred on Ranak Street in the city’s Old North, where four stories of scaffolding had been set up around a building under renovation.

It was not immediately clear what caused the trussing to give way.

The site manager was arrested questioning by a special division that focuses on construction accidents, police said.

Paramedics arriving at the scene were able to locate the three injured workers quickly, but were unable to reach the fourth person for three hours, according to reports.

“We were told that one person was still missing under the rubble,” an MDA medic said in a statement. “Rescue operations continued together with the firefighters and Home Front Command. Eventually, a man around 30 years old was located.”

He was pulled out unconscious with extensive injuries and no pulse, according to the statement. Medics declared him dead at the scene.

He was not named.

According to figures compiled by the Kav LaOved rights organization, at least 46 people have been killed in work accidents so far this year, the majority of them in the construction sector.

A report released by the group last month noted that there were only 80 worksite inspectors nationwide, the same number as in 2017, despite a 33 percent rise in work accidents over that period.